Coroner blasts war inquest delays

A coroner yesterday condemned the "quite unacceptable" delays in holding inquests into the deaths of British servicemen during the 2003 Iraq war.

Sir Richard Curtis, assistant deputy coroner for Oxfordshire, apologised to families who have been left waiting for almost four years for verdicts on how their loved ones died.

He spoke out at the inquest into six Royal Navy aircrew who were killed when two Royal Navy Sea King helicopters collided while operating from the aircraft carrier Ark Royal during the opening hours of the war, on March 22, 2003.

Sir Richard admitted the delays in holding inquests were "terrible", adding: "I well realise the worry and anxiety you have all been through because of the delay and let's hope it never happens again.

"I express that hope in your names, because it is quite, quite unacceptable."

Oxfordshire is responsible for hearings into the deaths of more than 170 British servicemen and women in Iraq and Afghanistan because their bodies have been flown into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.

Under the rules they cannot be passed to other areas to speed up the process. Three extra coroners have been drafted in to help, but the backlog still stands at more than 70 cases.

Sir Richard recorded a verdict of accidental death on the six aircrew, who were all lieutenants from the Navy's 849 Squadron, based at Culdrose, Cornwall.

At the end of the Oxford inquest, however, it remained a mystery why the helicopters collided in good weather conditions.